Assembling your own basses vs buying production basses vs modding

[somebrains]

I voted mod production instruments, because that's all I've ever done. It always seemed silly to spend the dough on a separate body and neck rather than getting something I liked then upgrading pickups and whatever. After putting the Allparts neck on my Squier P and winding up with a killer bass, I fully intend to piece together something from the ground up.

My #1 is a USACG flame maple neck & roasted mahogany J5 body.
Unusual passive electronics package that I totally understand the thought behind.

It passed thru a few hands before getting to me, it needs better shielding.
Inserts everywhere would be nice.

There's a wider range of spendy parts in 5s.

 

[alaskaleftybass]

I'm curious. The market is so flooded with Fender parts that it seems fairly easy to put together a P or J. What I'm interested in-- has anyone built a Music Man style bass? I'd be interested in seeing a home made MM and how the owner likes it.

 

[SactoBass]

Once I get that bass back from Nordstrand, I'm likely gonna get down to four. My two fives, the parts P with rounds, and (the first bass I ever played) a mid 80s E series MIJ P bass with flats on it.

Sounds like a plan!

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

I looked at buying parts to build a bass & it would be a lot cheap to buy one already assembled (pre-owned) & then just change what you don't like about it.
The important part is the neck, find something with a good, stiff neck & you're golden.

This one cost me just under $200 USD:

GSR100EX in the sun

• Killed_by_Death
• Jun 26, 2019
• 2
• ibanez

That's even after changing almost everything:
bridge
machine-heads
pots & knobs
neck

How's that thing sound stock Death?

 

[2saddleslab]

I enjoy builds and mods. Love to tinker and tackle as many aspects of assembly as possible like cutting a nut, addressing fret sprout, wiring, general setup, etc.

 

[SactoBass]

If you changed all those parts isn't it essentially a parts bass?

Minimalist: you bring up a very interesting question that I had not thought about until reading your post. And that question is, where is the boundary between a modded production bass and an assembled bass? I'm not sure I know the answer to that question. Perhaps some TB'ers will chime in with their opinions on that. My opinion, for what it's worth, is if the body and neck came from the factory attached, then as long as those two components remain together, then other mods are just mods, and it falls into the "modded production bass" category. And if the owner bought the body and neck separately and attached them, it's an "assembled" bass. But again, that's just my own opinion and doesn't necessarily represent fact. What is *your* opinion on where the boundary is?

 

[twinjet]

Career Girl! Props! '74 RI body?

Nice, you recognized the look! That's right on the money, both counts.

 

[SactoBass]

I enjoy builds and mods. Love to tinker and tackle as many aspects of assembly as possible like cutting a nut, addressing fret sprout, wiring, general setup, etc.

+1

I'm always amazed at how important proper nut slot depth (and angle) is. I ended up buying a set of nut slot files from Stew Mac, and I worked on all five of my current basses to ensure proper nut slot depth and angle.

Here's a vid that some TB'ers may find helpful regarding filing nut slots:

 

[ctmullins]

I like to scratch-build fantasy versions of regular basses. Kind of like a Custom Shop “what if...” game.

My favorite:

 

[Logic_11]

Personally … I love modding basses and building parts basses … I have 16 basses and none of them is stock.

View attachment 3647310

View attachment 3647312

View attachment 3647316
View attachment 3647317

have you ever regretted any mods?

 

[SactoBass]

I like to scratch-build fantasy versions of regular basses. Kind of like a Custom Shop “what if...” game.

View attachment 3647857

View attachment 3647858

View attachment 3647859

View attachment 3647860

View attachment 3647861

My favorite:
View attachment 3647862

So very cool! And an excellent way to end up with exactly what you want!

 

[Moving Pictures]

Minimalist: you bring up a very interesting question that I had not thought about until reading your post. And that question is, where is the boundary between a modded production bass and an assembled bass? I'm not sure I know the answer to that question. Perhaps some TB'ers will chime in with their opinions on that. My opinion, for what it's worth, is if the body and neck came from the factory attached, then as long as those two components remain together, then other mods are just mods, and it falls into the "modded production bass" category. And if the owner bought the body and neck separately and attached them, it's an "assembled" bass. But again, that's just my own opinion and doesn't necessarily represent fact. What is *your* opinion on where the boundary is?

My opinion is the same as yours. At the end of day the only thing thing that really matters is if you are happy with the result.

The only other thought I have had on this issue is that if you choose to sell the instrument down the road is that you disclose what changes were made to it. Many changes discussed here are either very pragmatic or at least make sense so selling a modded or parts bass shouldn’t be a problem really other than potentially taking a bit of a loss.

 

[2saddleslab]

+1

I'm always amazed at how important proper nut slot depth (and angle) is. I ended up buying a set of nut slot files from Stew Mac, and I worked on all five of my current basses to ensure proper nut slot depth and angle.

Here's a vid that some TB'ers may find helpful regarding filing nut slots:

Bought the same files and this is exactly what I've been doing the past couple days and the exact reference video I've been using as well.

 

[SactoBass]

My opinion is the same as yours. At the end of day the only thing thing that really matters is if you are happy with the result.

True dat!

The only other thought I have had on this issue is that if you choose to sell the instrument down the road is that you disclose what changes were made to it. Many changes discussed here are either very pragmatic or at least make sense so selling a modded or parts bass shouldn’t be a problem really other than potentially taking a bit of a loss.

I agree. I always fall back to the Golden Rule: "treat others as you would like to be treated." In this case meaning, if I am buying a bass, I would want to know about any and all mods. So using the Golden Rule, if I'm going to sell a bass, I would disclose everything about the bass.

 

[SactoBass]

Bought the same files and this is exactly what I've been doing the past couple days and the exact reference video I've been using as well.

Excellent! (oh, and I forgot to mention, I also went to an auto parts store and bought a set of feeler gauges, identical to the ones that the guy in the vid uses).

 

[2saddleslab]

Excellent! (oh, and I forgot to mention, I also went to an auto parts store and bought a set of feeler gauges, identical to the ones that the guy in the vid uses).

My feeler gauges are part of a group of tools I got from my dad long after he retired. He had lots of tools and knew how to use them. I'm more of a MyGyver type.

 

[SactoBass]

My feeler gauges are part of a group of tools I got from my dad long after he retired. He had lots of tools and knew how to use them. I'm more of a MyGyver type.

Perfect!

 

[edencab]

my p-bass kit worked out well...stock pups were fine, but I swapped in some Dragonfire large pole pups...sounds great to me and the band loves it too

 

[SactoBass]

my p-bass kit worked out well...stock pups were fine, but I swapped in some Dragonfire large pole pups...sounds great to me and the band loves it too

View attachment 3647915

Very cool!

 

[zontar]

The only mods I've ever done on a bass were removing the bridge cover & pickguard & replacing the knobs-which don't affect the tone--just the look and to a degree the utility (Speedknobs which I find easier to use & the bridge cover removal makes for faster string changes)
And also removing the foam mute.
that did affect the tone--in my mind for the better.

My fretless is unmodded.